The present invention relates generally to soap compositions and their method of manufacture, and more particularly to soap compositions that exhibit translucent properties.
Translucent soap bars are popular among consumers for their aesthetic appeal and their connotation of purity and high moisture content. Generally, a translucent bar soap is composed largely of one single homogeneous crystalline phase known as the xe2x80x9cbeta phase.xe2x80x9d The beta phase is one of four known crystalline phases of soap and imparts translucence, generally due to the small size of the soap crystals, which are too small to diffract light.
As used herein, the meaning of xe2x80x9ctranslucentxe2x80x9d is that which is generally employed and is generally in accordance with the usual dictionary definition. For example, a translucent soap is one that allows light to pass through it but the light may be so scattered, as by a small proportion of crystals or insolubles, such that it will not be possible to clearly identify objects behind the translucent soap. Furthermore, translucent soaps may include clear, colorless, and colored transparent soaps.
As with conventional, opaque soaps, it is popular to include additives, such as antibacterial agents, fragrance, vitamins and colorants, to translucent soaps bars to provide other beneficial characteristics. However, these additional ingredients may impair translucency of the final product. In such cases, it may be necessary during manufacturing to run the mix of ingredients through refining and milling processes multiple times before an acceptable translucency is achieved. Such additional processing increases manufacturing time, energy and manpower, thus increasing product costs and decreasing throughput.
Accordingly, there is a need for soap bar compositions that exhibit satisfactory translucency without undesirable processing. The present invention addresses this long felt, yet unresolved need.